Dawn's Prelude Read Online Free Page A

a seat. “The way I see it, we will simply have to find a way to handle this ourselves. As far as I know, Lydia has no family, and certainly has not had time to draw up a will. Perhaps if she is . . . eliminated, the problem itself will go away.”
    “Better still,” Marston said with a wicked grin, “she could leave her entire fortune to us.”
    “Exactly my thinking,” Mitchell replied.
    Jeannette and Evie’s husbands appeared to be trying to mask their shock, yet they said nothing to suggest they wouldn’t support such an idea. Marston reasoned that with a little thought, they’d know exactly how it would affect them, and he believed they would hope for any decision that might benefit their coffers.
    Evie was indignant. “I can’t believe you’re sitting here so calmly suggesting the death of another human being. I understand wanting to reclaim what is rightfully ours, but to kill someone is an entirely different situation.”
    Marston turned to his youngest sister. “You are only seventeen. What do you know of life—or death, for that matter? Lydia has never liked any of us, so you can hardly hope that she would willingly right this wrong.”
    “We never gave her a reason to like any of us,” Evie replied. “You were always scheming against her.”
    “She didn’t belong in our family.” Jeannette’s voice was shrill and bitter. “She should never have married Father in the first place.”
    “I hardly believe she was given any say in the decision,” Evie countered. “She didn’t want to marry Father any more than we wanted her to marry him.”
    “But the fact remains, she did marry him,” Marston replied. “There is absolutely nothing that we can do to change that now. What we cannot do is stand by and allow that woman to ruin our well-being. Can you really tolerate her taking all of Mother’s jewelry and furs? Would you see Lydia sell off the family heirlooms to pad her purse?”
    “She will do it, too,” Jeannette said, hissing against her sister’s ear. “She’s only been waiting for a moment like this. I say we put her from our lives once and for all.”
    Evie could hardly believe her siblings’ heartless comments. She moved to the parlor door, saying, “I’m afraid I have no stomach for this. I will retire to the music room until you have concluded this madness.”
    “Oh, for pity’s sake, Evie. Sit down and do stop with your prattling.”
    Evie looked into the eyes of her husband. The man seldom had more than two words to offer her in any given day. Now he fixed her with a cold stare that left her feeling empty inside. Theirs, too, was a marriage of arrangement, set up by her father for the betterment of business. Her husband stood to lose a great deal in this situation.
    “Yes, do sit down and be quiet,” Marston ordered. “We haven’t time for your delicate constitution.” He and Thomas turned back to the gathering.
    It frustrated Evie that they had dismissed her, knowing she wouldn’t dare defy them. With a heavy sigh, she did as she was told—just as they had known she would.
    If I had more courage, I would stalk from this room and give them all something of a shock. She frowned and looked down at her gloved hands. If I had more courage, I would have stood up to Father and refused to marry Thomas Gadston. It isn’t as if he cares about me or loves me .
    No, love might have actually made the arrangement bearable. Even if the love had only been on Thomas’s side, Evie might have learned to return his feelings. Instead, they both found the arrangement a misery. Thankfully, Gadston had never even attended her properly as a husband. He had never visited her room to consummate the marriage, and rumor had it, he never would. The household servants often whispered of unthinkable, unholy interests held by her husband, and while Evie found such ideas abominable, she was just as glad to be left to herself.
    “You do make a good point.” Mitchell’s deep voice broke through